Oka!

"Oka!," a fictional film set in the Central African Republic, is best when it resembles a documentary focusing on the lives of the Bayaka Pygmies and their rain forest environment. But the story, about a friendly American ethnomusicologist and various attempts to exploit the Pygmies, is less successful.

Larry Whitman (Kris Marshall) returns to Africa to continue his life's work of preserving Bayaka music. He finds that the Pygmies have been displaced by a local politico (Isaach de Bankolé) who is helping a Chinese businessman (Will Yun Lee) acquire timber rights.

The plot is somewhat pedestrian and the dialogue needs more zip. But it's amusing to watch the Bayaka poke good-natured fun at the gangly Larry, who has only their best interests at heart.

"Oka!" is based on the real-life experiences of Louis Sarno, who co-wrote it with Suzanne Stroh and the film's director, Lavinia Currier.